Bhubaneswar: The authorities in Zimbabwe have decided to cull at least 200 elephants to feed hungry people as the African nation is facing an unprecedented drought this year.

The government has instructed the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority to begin the culling process while Environment Minister Sithembiso Nyoni informed the Parliament that the country has ‘more elephants than it needed’ and more than the forests can sustain.

According to the authorities, Zimbabwe’s elephant population is over 80,000. It is the second largest in the world after Botswana.

The Environment Minister told the Parliament that elephant overpopulation has led to resources shortages and frequent human-wildlife conflicts.

The government is planning to cull around 200 elephants and distribute the meat to protein-deficient regions, she added.

The culling process will begin once the required documentation is finalized. The authorities will carry out the culling process in regions with dense elephant population.

The cull, the first in Zimbabwe since 1988, is likely to take place in Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho and Chiredzi districts.

It is worth mentioning here that another African nation Namibia had recently announced that it would cull over 700 wild animals to feed the drought-hit people.

The Namibian authorities announced that they would cull altogether 723 animals including 83 elephants, 30 hippopotamuses, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeests, 300 zebras and 100 elands to provide meat to around 1.4 million people in the country.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are among the African countries that are now going through a severe drought, most probably caused by El Nino and Climate change.  

(Note: This story is a part of Punascha Pruthibi - One Earth. Unite for it', an awareness campaign by Sambad Digital)